Armed
with the proper information, there’s no reason to fear the
latest news about toxins and pharmaceutical drugs being found in
your water. Not to say that this news isn’t alarming.
Measures must be taken to remove these harmful substances from
our eco-system. But until the day that dream becomes a
reality, you can protect yourself and your loved ones with
calcium bentonite clay. Taken internally, calcium
bentonite clay safely removes toxins from your system.

What’s
all the uproar about?

A
recent article in the Washington Post (Area
Tap Water Has Traces of Medicines) warned that trace amounts
of 6 popular prescription drugs had been found in the area’s
drinking water, and that these harmful substances could not be
filtered out by most treatment systems. The drugs found
included antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, a disinfectant,
and even anti-seizure medication – all found in a water supply
that serves more than 1 million people. And this is not an
isolated incident. According to the article,
“Pharmaceuticals, along with trace amounts of caffeine, were
found in the drinking water supplies of 24 of 28 metropolitan
areas tested.” Nationwide, the AP reported that
researchers found anti-depressants, antacids, synthetic hormones
from birth control pills, and many other human and animal
medicines in the water. In San
Francisco, tests found a sex hormone. In New
York, the water tested positive for heart medicines and a
prescription tranquilizer. The article states that scientists do
not know the health effects of long-term exposure to such drugs.
And while some scientist are saying there’s nothing to worry
about, other’s fear chronic exposure could alter immune
responses or interfere with adolescents' developing hormone
systems. Although experts agree that aquatic life are most
at risk from exposure to the drugs in rivers and streams,
researchers are concerned about what they don't know about human
health effects.

According
to a CBS News article (Probe:
Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water), there’s another issue:
There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in
conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some
pharmaceuticals more toxic. The article went on to say
that even users of bottled water and home filtration systems
don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply
repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for
pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group.
The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.

For
several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit
watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated
contaminants - pesticides, lead, PCBs - which are present in
higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger
because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the
human body. "These are chemicals that are designed to
have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's
what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the
environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have
effects," says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University
in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and
other drugs.

There
is a safe and easy way to protect yourself from these horrifying
contaminants – calcium bentonite clay. According to
Michel Abeshera, author of The Healing Clay, “Clay has
a remarkable resistance to chemical agents… as a
bacteria-destroying agent it can render contaminated water
innocuous.”

How
does Bentonite clay work?

Bentonite
clay carries a uniquely strong negative ionic charge which
causes it to ‘magnetically’ attract any substance with a
positive ionic charge (i.e., bacteria, toxins, metals, etc.).
These substances are both adsorbed (sticking to the outside like
Velcro) and absorbed (drawn inside) by the clay molecules.
Your body doesn’t digest clay, so the clay passes through your
system, collecting the toxins, and removing them as the clay is
eliminated. It’s like a little internal vacuum cleaner.
In his book The Clay Cure, Ran Knishinsky states it this
way:

“The
clay's immediate action upon the body is directly on the
digestive channel. This involves the clay actually binding
with the toxic substances and removing them from the body with
the stool. It performs this job with every kind of toxin,
including those from the environment, such as heavy metals, and
those that occur naturally as by-products of the body's own
health processes, such as metabolic toxins. It's hard to
believe that the body produces its own toxins, but that may
happen as a result of stress, inefficient metabolism, or the
proliferation of free radicals. The body has no problem
ridding itself of the clay. Don't worry about a tiny brick
house being built in the middle of your colon. The clay
assists the body's eliminatory process by acting as a bulking
agent, similar to psyllium fiber, sweeping out the old matter
that doesn't need to be there. It is not digested in the
same manner as food as it passes through the alimentary canal.
Instead, it stimulates intestinal peristalsis, the muscular
contractions that move food and stool through the bowels.
The clay and the adsorbed toxins are both eliminated together;
this keeps the toxins from being reabsorbed into the
bloodstream. Clay works on the entire organism. No
one part of the body is left untouched by its healing energies.
I don't know of another supplement that is quite as capable as
clay of producing such a wide range of positive reactions."

How
do we use the Bentonite clay?

In
this day and age, there’s virtually no way to isolate yourself
from the toxins that surround us. In our air, in our food,
in the ground beneath our feet, and obviously now in our water,
the contaminants abound. However, with Bentonite clay, you
can keep yourself healthy and vibrant.

Perry
A~, author of Calcium
Bentonite Clay, Nature's Pathway to Healing,
suggests the following protocol to keep yourself internally
cleansed. First, clay must be taken internally. You
can either eat hydrated clay ‘paste’ or drink liquefied
clay. A good Bentonite clay will be very smooth and creamy
and have virtually no taste. One to two tablespoons of
hydrated clay daily is the recommend amount for adults. If
you’re drinking liquefied clay, start with one to two ounces
twice a day made with 1 part of dry powder calcium Bentonite
clay to 8 parts of water.

Perry
A~ also recommends taking clay baths twice a week. Clay
baths help keep your body cleansed by pulling toxins through the
pores. To prepare a clay bath, scatter about 2 cups of
Bentonite clay powder into the bath water as it’s running, and
use your hands to swish away any lumps that might form. Or
you can simply add 4 cups or more of liquefied Bentonite clay to
your bath. A clay bath should last ideally between 15-20
minutes in extremely hot water and longer in a less hot bath.
Submerge as much of your body as possible during the bath.
The more clay that is used in the therapy, the more powerful the
response.

Which
clay should we use?

According
to Jason Eaton (www.EytonsEarth.org)
the best healing clay is a natural clay that has not been
processed (heated or bleached). The ‘cleaning’ process
removes many of the healing qualities of the clay. You
want a raw, clean, natural, swelling clay (one that expands when
mixed with water). Perry A~ recommends using natural
calcium Bentonite clay due to its high pH and uniquely strong
adsorption and absorption abilities. It’s best to choose
a fine-milled clay, preferably one milled to 325 mesh.
This ensures that once the clay is hydrated or liquefied, it
will not be gritty. Also, when choosing a company from
which to purchase your clay, make certain they can provide a
chemical analysis of their clay, along with lab testing to prove
its purity. If they can’t or won’t provide such
documents, you should look elsewhere.

Cheryl
McCoy has been researching and studying the healing benefits of
clay since 2003 She has worked extensively with clay expert
Perry A~ Arledge, and is the co-owner of the Apex
Bentonite Clay company. She can be reached at cheryl@apexclay.com.